Workshop dates 2016-2017

Here are my new workshop dates of the coming academic year. You can find all details on my website at www.helenhallows.com or click here.

Harley Gallery Christmas Art Market 2015

It was a breezy weekend in a marquee at the Harley Gallery Art Market in Nottinghamshire. Run alongside Open Studios and an artisan food market and the usual gallery and garden centre on the Welbeck estate it's an established event that draws in large numbers of people even when it's blowing a gail! I was in fine company with fellow exhibitors such as  printmaker James Green, designer Eloise Renouf, jewellers Milly Moore, Helen Shere and Alys Power, textile artists Dionne Swift and Viv at Hen's Teeth amongst other talents!

This is me!

This is me! Autumn is my favourite season. I love the rich colours. I'm trying to slow the year down, to take the time to be outside, to collect conkers and leaves and bring nature back to the studio.

Happy Autumn

Celebrating the seasons has occupied the human spirit for millennia. In these fast paced days and artificially lit nights, I feel grounded when I go outside, observe what is happening around me and acknowledge the wonderment of nature. The simple gifts I collect, a fallen leaf, the fruits of my allotment and garden all bring me into the here and now. It is on these forays into nature that my mind is at peace and ideas for my creative work evolve.

Tools of my trade

I'm getting ready for a series of collage workshops. The tools of my trade are varied! I use marks to create different papers to collage with and use a variety of inks and paints. I make my own mark making tools as well as having a good collection of found objects. I use different printmaking techniques and make my own printing blocks. On the workshops I share these techniques and show how to use the different papers to tell a story, the story of your creative soul.

Melbourne Festival 2015

The annual event that is the Melbourne Festival is a sight to behold! The village of Melbourne, Derbyshire is kidnapped by artists and makers who fill every available space. Home owners are held to ransom and give up their conservatories, and dining rooms as exhibition space. Shop windows and shops are filled with art and gardens are turned into sculpture venues. By magic the sun is made to shine and for forty eight hours visitors come from far and wide to buy beautiful jewellery, ceramics and art.  

Winter Open Studio 2014

On Saturday 6th December 2014 I will be hosting my Winter Open Studio. There'll be vases, prints, tiles, cards and originals for sale. We will be serving mulled cider and starting to feel a little festive! I'd be delighted if you'd join me. You can find details on my Facebook page or email me via the website for more details.

The Story of Sock II

I was really pleased with how my stand looked at the Sock Gallery.  The laser cut letters were inspired by the design on the back of my cards:

My brown paper and string aesthetic now continues across my business cards and wrappings.  

And building on this years letter writing theme, each original or print now comes with a letter about the piece.  

Collaged Landscape

At the weekend I held my first two day 'Collaged Landscape' workshop.  Previously run as a one day event, running it over two allowed participants to really get stuck in and explore all the different elements of mark making, painting, collage and stitch.  The outcomes were fabulous.

Due to outrageously positive feedback I'll be running more workshops in 2013 and can now announce the following dates:

April 13/14 Collaged Landscapes workshop at Long Eaton Art Room, NG10 4LD £100 - 6 places

May 11th    Creative play day - experiment with mark making, try machine embroidery, try collage.  Can be used as an extra day if you have already attended a course or as a try out before a longer course. £50 - Long Eaton Art Room - 8 places

June 15/16 Collaged narratives workshop at Long Eaton Art Room.  Similar to the landscapes weekend but focusing on the story behind your piece, perhaps inspired by a personal story or a poem. £100 all materials included- Long Eaton Art Room - 6 places

July 13th  Creative play day - as May 11th - 8 places, £50 including all materials and cake! Long Eaton Art Room

Please contact me if you'd like to book a place.  Also available are workshop gift vouchers (£50 or £100) if you would like to surprise someone with a thoughtful and inspiring gift!

Private view

'On the turn' ink, collage and stitch

I had a wonderful evening at the private view of 'Patterned Presence' last Thursday.  I sold far more than I ever expected to and received some wonderful compliments.  I haven't come down from cloud nine yet!

Setting up

Helen Rhodes

Josephine Gommersall

Sue Vanderplank

Here's Helen and Sue setting up the exhibition.  And a million thanks to Josephine for helping me set up.  I couldn't have done it without her.....so handy with a drill and very calm and collected!

Pulled it off!

Well, here it is.  The piece I had every intention of finishing for the exhibition but seemed more and more unlikely.  I've wanted to put my work on to furniture all year and I am delighted with this.  It's lined with beautiful bookbinding paper.  It is officially a blanket box but would make an equally good sideboard or hall table.  It now takes pride of place in my exhibition at Sock Gallery Loughborough which I set up on Tuesday.  There were tears and tantrums but I did it!

Folksy shop

I've updated my folksy shop and these pieces are now available as limited edition prints.

Workshops for Spring 2012

I've just designed the flyer for my workshops for spring.  You know what they say, 'The early bird.....'

My Essential Kit

The lovely Emily at Folksy has featured me this week for the My Essential Kit feature.  Have a look!

Helen Hallows creates original artwork using ink, collage and stitch, “I aim to capture fleeting moments that catch my eye”. Helens collection includes artwork, coasters, bunting, greetings cards, and porcelain homewares. With such a range of products what on earth is in her essential tool kit?

1. Stretching tape. I work on watercolour or pastel papers with ink washes so I always use stretching tape to keep the paper flat.

Inks. I love the little bottles of pure colour lined up in my studio. They give an intense, permanent colour.

2. I apply the inks with a brush or Chinese calligraphy bamboo pen.

3. I collect vintage papers: old book pages, endpapers and book jackets, sheet music, vintage wrapping paper and wallpaper. I supplement these with book binding papers, scrapbooking papers and paper that I’ve painted or drawn on myself.

4. My trusty Elna sewing machine. Called a ‘Quilter’s Dream’ it suffers me forcing it to sew through paper and stitch freely. I’ve had it for fifteen years and it’s never caused me any trouble. (Of course, I’ve just given it the kiss of death!)

5. Cottons. Something else for me to search out when I’m in junk shops and at carboot sales. I have hundreds of them and love the gradations of hue and shade. I have them in an old set of tool drawers with a drawer for each colour.

My letterpress H stamp. I finish each piece with my makers’ mark, a HH stamped with this letterpress letter. I have only one and it sometimes goes astray which fills me with panic.

6. My ‘Helen Hallows’ stamp. This features on the back of all my original artworks and as a transfer onto the bottom of my ceramics. I stamp my bags with it at fairs, and it’s on my blog, website, business card and all correspondence. I’m even thinking of getting it tattooed!!

You can have a right old nosey around Helens Folksy shop here Helen Hallows. She is also exhibiting at The Sock Galleryin Loughborough from 30th November – 15th January 2012.

If you have an essential crafting kit you’d like to share please send it tofrankly@folksy.co.uk.

Kit photograph ©Lyndsey James Photography 2011.

Now available

My new range of art cards are now available in my Folksy shop. Taken from my British Landscapes series, they are beautifully printed on high quality textured card with a lovely crisp white envelope.  Available as this set of six and this set of four.